Mellow Peony
by Paan
Summary: Brought up in the splendours of the best part of the Red-Light District in Kyoto, Yukimura's only aim in life was to please her customers. But how would she cope when one night, she no longer belongs in the ritzy glamour of the Yukaku, but is forced to start a new life with a bunch of trainees in a worn-down dojo? Slight AU, OC/ Shinsengumi/ Extras, may contain pairings later on
1. Prologue

**|Prologue|**

* * *

It was a frosty January evening in Kyoto. The cold winter wind slipped under the tattered windows and doors of Shiei Hall, forcing the inhabitants to huddle around the only source of warmth in the rather ancient dojo.

"Ugh, Kondou-San needs to get a new building…" The smallest of the young men grumbled while rubbing his arms in an attempt to keep them warm. "I can't tell the difference between the inside and the outside."

A taller man with crimson hair chuckled at the complaint. "We'd better start off by being able to afford three meals per day first, huh Heisuke?" He answered playfully, "Then we can start thinking about a new building."

"Speaking about meals, I'm starving…" A man with wild brown hair who sat across the red-head groaned. "I could do with a nice ball of steaming hot rice and some roasted mackerel..."

"No…! No talking about food, Shinpachi-San!" The smallest of the group, Heisuke, groaned loudly. "It's worse enough as it is! Cold _and_ hungry is triple the misery!"

"Hmm... I wonder what's worse: Freezing to death or starving to death?" A light brown haired man who was leaning against one of the wooden pillars piqued into the conversation with a smile, his light tone in complete contrast to his morbid words.

"A real man would kill himself honorably before dying like that!" The crimson haired youth, Harada, exclaimed with a triumphant grin. He loosened his Yukata and straightened up to reveal an ugly red scar across his toned stomach - The injury looked quite recent. "The prime example, being something like this!"

The five other young men sitting around the large *danro at the centre of the hall looked completely uninterested by the sudden outburst, as if they were used it.

The man with the wild brown hair, Shinpachi, sighed. "Yes yes, you and your amazing stomach. Now put it away before you catch a cold.''

Harada's eyes narrowed. ''Oi, Shinpachi, I'm not hearing sarcasm am I?''

As the two started to bicker, hurling insults of greater magnitudes, a navy-haired man who sat closest to the door suddenly spoke up.

"... Kondou-san and Hijikata-san is here." he stated quietly, his eyes darting towards the window.

"Yup, they're almost home." The man leaning against the pillar said with another smile. He pushed himself off the pillar with a light oomph. "... and they're not alone."

"Huh? They've brought someone else, Souji? " Heisuke asked, curiosity getting better of him and standing up to get a good view of the inner courtyard.

"What, they picked _another _newbie up?" Shin asked with a grin on his face. "Kondou-san and Hijikata-san are way too soft hearted for their own good."

Even though the words suggested scorn, the men knew there wasn't a hint of malice in Shinpachi's words.

Harada snorted and picked himself up. "And without that soft-heart, I bet my bottle of sake that half of us would be dead already..."

In three quick strides, Harada stood next to Heisuke by the window.

"Right, so what poor kid has our two senseis picked off the street this time?" Harada said with mirth, leaning against the window frame and gazing into the small inner courtyard.

"I can hear them turn the corner!" Heisuke said, his brow furrowed in concentration. "Yup, that's three pairs of feet alright."

Curiosity winning over warmth, the remaining two men reluctantly shuffled away from the danro and gathered around the window to see who the third set of light footsteps belonged to.

''It's obviously someone small.'' Shinpachi remarked with interest.

"About a third the body-weight of Kondou-san, I would think." The navy-haired man, Saito, analysed the sound with closed eyes.

The other men nodded, their eyes fixed on the dojo gates and waiting for their two senseis and the 'newbie' to walk through.

"Hmm, someone smaller than our little Heisuke, huh?" Harada teased, "We're going to have to take turns babysitting."

"Sano-san! I thought I told you not to call me little!" Heisuke growled, "I'm only a little younger than all of you, that's all!"

"They're here."

With Okita's amused words, three figures walked through the dojo gates and were making their way to the entrance. One, a medium-height man with short unruly black hair who walked with an air of absolute happy confidence, and another with jet-black hair of similar height walking with equal confidence but with a sharper edge and steel in his eyes. The pair made a strange contrast, but were obviously at complete confidence at each others presence as they strode with purpose and ease.

But it wasn't the two men that was causing a stir in Shiei Hall though, it was the tiny figure that was half walking and half being held by the thinner of the two men. The frail limbs, the long sleek midnight hair, and what appeared to be large, frightened eyes, it almost seemed as if...

"... She's a girl." Okita said what all the men in the hall were thinking, his elegant eyebrows raised in surprise. "And a small girl at that."

"... " Shinpachi seemed speechless, his eyes wide and face almost comically pressed against the window pane to get a clearer view.

"Huh... Is she going to live with us?" Harada said with a frown, his eyes fixed on the approaching figures. "This is hardly a place for a girl to live in."

"Kondou-san and Hijikata-san would have a plan if they brought her here." Saito said in a calm voice, although some of the older youths detected the hint of surprise in his usually unshakable tone.

"Whoa... A girl, huh?" Heisuke said with wide eyes, "She looks so... Weak." He added, almost as an afterthought, looking at the thin white limbs.

"She's not the usual sort that Kondou-san brings along in his little trip, I guess." Okita agreed with a sigh. "Right... Well girl or boy, we should greet our guest, hm?"

_ *Danro: Heater_

* * *

The Shinsengumi captains here all should be around negative 5 years from the men we see in the games. I'm not entirely sure about pairings, but if there is going to be something, it's going to be one of: OC X Okita/ Harada/ Toudou/ Saito. Romantic pairings may never happen :)

Reviews are appreciated but if you have nothing nice to say, please don't comment! Thanks!

PS: The actual chapters themselves will be a little longer than the prologue, obviously :D


	2. Chapter 1 - The Girl From Moon Palace

**|Chapter 1|**

**The Girl From Moon Palace**

* * *

_-Harada Sanosuke_

She looked small. And very, very frail.

The first thing Harada noticed was her big frightened eyes. She hid herself behind Hijikata-san when she came under scrutiny of our curious gazes, her small white hands clutching at the taller man's black Yukata.

Well who wouldn't be a little apprehensive, Harada thought, when you were surrounded by seven strangers in a foreign location?

"What do we have here, Kondou-san? Not the usual sort, is she?"

Okita chimed in with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. His voice was light, but it was underlined by a slight tone of annoyance.

Whether Kondou-san noticed this or not, Harada didn't know, because he merely grinned and gently started tugging the girl by hand from behind Hijikata-san.

"No, I guess she isn't the usual sort we pickup." He laughed heartily, and with that, the slight tension in the atmosphere dissolved.

Harada noticed Okita sigh in resignation and relax. He understood the other man's concern - they were in short of... Everything really, and weren't really in the position to take in new people (who won't pay) - especially someone who looked as though they needed a lot of attention. The girl certainly wasn't one of the boys who could take care of themselves.

The girl kept her eyes fixed onto the ground, and after a few terse moment, gave into Kondou-san's tugging hands and finally came in full view.

She was wearing Kondou-san's haori, which was completely oversized for her and reached almost down to her ankles. What caught Harada's interest was that the girl was wearing white powder and red lipstick, and her midnight hair hung thick, showing signs of being oiled up. Her large eyes were accented with black liner and red shadow, her thick eyelashes coated with oil, making them splay out and frame her coal-black eyes. She looked lost, young and to put it mildly, very upset, but Harada could tell that with one coy smile, she would instantly belong somewhere in midst the splendour of the red-light district.

Harada's eyebrows rose up and a smirk played on his lips.

And apparently, he wasn't the only one to notice this, since Saito said with surprise in his voice of what must have been flitting through every man's head that moment:

"...*Oiran?"

"I'd say a *Maiko - much too young to be a Oiran." Okita grinned. "Well well, Kondou-san, Hijikata-san, where have you been to pick a cutie like this up?"

Okita's voice was teasing, and the girl flushed, and downcast her eyes even further.

"Have you been having fun while the rest of us were stuck freezing in the dojo, Hijikata-san." Harada piqued in, his voice full of amusement. "You should have called for me!"

Hijikata-san waved off the comments with an impatient frown. "We didn't _pick up _anyone, Souji, Sanosuke. We were just drinking some sake by the *Yukaku when we heard a big commotion. And of course, Kondou-san had to take a look, and we saw this-" he pointed at the girl in a resigned manner, "girl being kicked out of the Moon Palace, and..."

Hijikata-san suddenly trailed his words, his brows farrowing as if he was remembering something unpleasant. The girl blushed to an even further shade of red, her hands blanched as they were balled up into tight fists by her side.

Okita, being quick and perceptive as he was, picked up on the slight hesitation in Hijikata-san's voice. His brows raised at the uncharacteristic silence from the usually direct commander.

"They kicked her out, and...?"

"... They threw me outside the Yukaku, naked." The girl finally said quietly, when Hijikata-san still hesitated. "Hijikata-san and Kondou-san saved my life by taking me in before anyone else." Her eyes were still downcast, but her fist was balled up into an even tighter ball, her nails drawing blood from her palms. A thin line of crimson traced down to the centre of her knuckles.

Kondou-san looked troubled at her words and Hijikata-san sighed. His hands quickly reached down to the girl's and pried the bloody hands open.

The sharp-eyed man looked sternly at the girl.

"Don't do that. We're low on medical supplies as it is with this lot breaking a limb everyday or so."

His tone was gruff, but the men could tell he was worried for her.

Okita looked a little sheepish for almost forcing the words out of the girl, and chose to sit in silence. Heisuke and Shinpachi seemed unsure of what to say, and fell silent also. Saito simply observed the situation with a slight look of disgust in his face. Harada knew it was held not for the girl, but those kicked her out and virtually sentenced her to death in the streets.

"So we couldn't just leave her there, in middle of Kyoto at night and... All vulnerable, " Kondou-san spoke up, "So we decided to bring her here until she can find her own place."

"So it means for the time being, Saito and Souji will move to Heisuke, Sano, and Shinpachi's room - it'll be a little cramped, but it can't be helped." Hijikata-san said dismissively.

The boys nodded in compliance, but the girl seemed unsure as she suddenly spoke up, silencing all conversations.

"You... Don't have to go to such lengths to keep me comfortable." She finally raised her head and her coal black eyes sweeped across the room, meeting everyone's gazes. "I already owe everything to you for taking me in tonight."

She suddenly kneeled to everyone's surprise, and she bowed deeply, her long midnight hair parting sideways to expose her milky white neck - a sign of complete respect and trust.

"I owe you my life. Let me sleep somewhere I won't be a disturbance." She whispered, her voice muffled by the floor. "From today onwards, my life no longer belongs to the Yukaku, but in your hands."

She was certainly a daughter of the Yukaku. She was soft-spoken, her manner was eloquent, and her movements were graceful and pleasing to the eye. Harada had to admit that she had a certain unexpected fragility and strength that made him want to spear the people who threw her out in such a shameful way.

Hijikata-san was the first to break the silence.

"There's no need for such formalities. You will stay in the room we allocate you - you'll be less of a burden if you stay where we can keep an eye on you."

His words were harsh, but his tone was a lot softer than before. His lips even entertained a smile for a little while as he watched the girl get up from her bow.

"Toshi's right! You don't need to be so stiff with us!" Kondou-san laughed heartily. "You'll be our honoured guest during your stay here in Shiei Hall, uhh..."

Kondou-san paused, looking sheepish. "Forgive me, but I seem to have forgotten your name."

The girl lowered her eyes and a small smile tugged on her lips. "...Youjin Yukimura."

"Welcome to Shiei Hall, Youjin. We'll call you our 'honoured guest' but we really don't have a lot to offer."

The girl turned to Harada as he spoke to her, seemingly surprised by the sudden input. But she quickly regained her composure and bowed from the waist.

"A place to sleep is already more than enough, kind sir."

Harada laughed. "You don't have to be so formal with me. Call me Sano."

The girl lifted her head and met his eyes for the first time. A smile graced her red lips, and Harada could safely say that even with her makeup faded, her hair not ornately up, and dressed in a man's Haori, she was one of the most beautiful woman he's ever laid his eyes on.

"Thank you... Sano-san."

That's it, the guys at Moon Palace should be wary the next time I see them, because they might just end up with a spear sticking out of their stomachs.

_*Oiran - The ancestors of the modern Geisha_

_*Maiko - A trainee Courtesan_

_*Yukaku - Pleasure quarters made legal by the Shogunate (the government of the Shogun, a hereditary military dictator)_

* * *

Woo, 1st chapter! :) Each chapter is going to be told in either one of the Shinsengumi's or the OC's viewpoint, if you haven't realised already with Harada!

The story is probably not going to follow the game's events, but may contain _some _elements of it; ie, some characters/ some events. Please note that some of the things I write isn't fully researched and may be a little strange for some native Japanese speakers. To non-japanese speakers, it should be fine :3


	3. Chapter 2 - Wounds, Ointments and Reason

**|Chapter 2|**

**Wounds, Ointments and Reason**

* * *

_-Souji Okita_

Souji Okita was not easily silenced, but accidentally forcing a girl to account a moment of such dishonour and humiliation by her own words did the impossible and shut him up completely.

He watched quietly how the situation on hand play out - his initial annoyance at her presence slowly being forgotten at her graceful manner and eloquent speech. She was interesting to say the least.

He had to admit he was a little impressed when she bowed. It took a lot of courage to show such a sign in a room full of strangers. Exposing one's neck could mean instant death (although if they'd wished to do so, she'd be dead in the same amount of time even if she was standing up) - or in a girl's case, she could be instantly taken advantage of. It was a gamble, of either winning the group's good opinion, or risking her own life.

"Souji, bandage up her hands before taking her to her room."

Hijikata's voice interrupted his thoughts, and he looked up to find the girl standing in front of him, eyes downcast once more. She fidgeted nervously, obviously worried she was being a bother.

Okita grinned. "Youjin, is it?"

She nodded.

Okita gave a chuckle at the girl's tense form and stood up and turned to the commander.

"Hijikata-san, we're not going to keep her in Kondou-san's Haori, are we?"

Hijikata frowned. "I suppose we cannot..." he paused for a moment. "I guess she'll have to do with a trainee's yukata for the time being."

"Of course. I'll give her the spare one in the storage room." Okita said lightly, and Hijikata nodded at him.

Okita looked at the girl. "Right, you come with me, Youjin."

Without waiting for a reply, he turned and walked out of the room, heading towards the infirmary.

The girl's soft footfall followed him, and they settled into a comfortable silence until they reached their destination.

Okita slid open the tatami door. "In here, please. And make yourself comfortable."

The girl quickly let herself in at his prompt, not forgetting the quiet 'thank you' as she passed him.

Okita chuckled and busied himself looking for the necessary bandages and ointment for the wound. He had taken a quick look at her hands when Hijikata had told him to treat her, and it seemed quite deep for something self inflicted.

"A girl shouldn't scar her skin by her own accord." He said amusedly while inspecting different bottles of ointments. He glanced back at her, who had settled into a kneeling position in the centre of the room.

"Although I guess you'd know that better than me, hmm?" He added almost as an afterthought, his mind flashing back to the conversation in the hall.

"Yes... It brings our price down if we're marred physically in any way." She said matter-of-factly. "Some customers refuse to even let us in the room if the skin isn't completely smooth."

Okita raised his brow at her directness. "Is that so?"

There was silence after that, but Okita was always comfortable in silences, so he let it be. When finally, he found everything he needed, he sat in front of the girl and took her hands.

Soft, white and small. Hardly used to a day of work - a daughter of the Yukaku indeed.

With an unintended smile, he flipped her limp hands and inspected the fresh eight crescent shaped cuts on her palms.

"Well it's not enough to scar, but it might sting a little... "

He pulled the stopper from the bottle and started dropping a few drops of ointment into each of the wound.

The girl gasped, and her hands automatically tried to withdraw, but Souji's strong hands prevented her from doing so.

Unable to pull back, the girl merely bit her lips and let her hands fall limp to Souji's grip.

"Ow..." Her eyes watered a little.

Completely unused to pain as expected. He thought idly to himself, and for an odd reason, it pleased him.

"How did you do this to yourself in the first place if you're finding _this _painful?" Okita asked with a snicker, cutting the bandages into two pieces for both hands. "Making them must surely hurt more than applying medicine on them, no?"

"... I didn't realise until Hijikata-san told me to stop doing it. I was feeling a little numb after... All that happened." She whispered, and when she looked up into his eyes, Okita realised why the Oirans and the Maikos would oil their eyelashes. Large watery eyes combined with dewy, thickly splayed eyelashes did a wonderful job at evoking a man's protectiveness.

Okita nodded and concentrated on the bandaging, sensing that he may have reached a sensitive topic. Normally, he'd ignore such signs and delve on - making people squirm with words was always entertaining. But for some reason, he didn't feel like chasing the topic that particular night; even if he was a little curious.

He must have either overestimated his ability to keep a nonchalant mask, or underestimated the girl's perceptiveness; because after watching Okita tie the bandages for a little while, it was she who broke the silence.

"... Okita-san is right. I was an apprenticed Maiko at Moon Palace."

Moon palace. The best of the Shogunate Yukaku houses in Kyoto. Said to cost a man's year wages per visit; the best Oirans practically considered mythical beings amongst the common folk.

Okita stayed silent and let her speak, keeping his eyes down to where he was bandaging her hands. He felt his heart speed up slightly; feeling like he was listening to the deepest, darkest secret of the strange midnight haired girl that so suddenly popped into their lives at Shiei Hall.

"I was left at the doorsteps of Moon Palace when I was four. The master wanted nothing to do with me, but the Oirans raised me like their own."

A smile tugged her lips as she continued.

"Given the circumstances, I was rather fortunate... The Oirans tried their best to hide me from the master as I grew up, but they could not hide me forever. One of the more wealthier customers took an interest in me and requested that I joined his group of Oirans to serve him as Maiko... I was in no position to refuse."

And no surprise the guy noticed her, Okita thought idly.

"For the first few years, I served alcohol. Then I was trained in the arts of the Oiran, and started dancing and calligraphy."

Youjin paused, and took a shuddered breath.  
"I held out as long as possible. To avoid serving inside a room. For a year, I evaded such invites, but today... I... "

She closed her eyes as tears started to form.

"It happened so quickly. He... He was one of the biggest customers of our House, and he grabbed me as I was leaving the hall... And I tried to turn him down but he was so drunk and... It scared me, so I..."

Okita's brows raised. Was she really going to say what he thought she was going to say?

"... Made the terrible mistake of... Kicking him in a rather sensitive area..." She finished, looking upset and condemned at the same time. She stole a glance at Okita's face, and that doleful look was the final straw. He couldn't keep it in.

Shock, surprise and a hint of anger spread across Youjin's pale face as Souji doubled up in laughter, tears forming at the corners of his eyes from laughing so hard.

She slanted her eyes, giving her a more feline look, hurt clear on her face.

"You... Kicked the balls of some higher-up member of the shogunate? Because he grabbed you?" Okita wheezed out in between his laughs, his eyes alight with mirth. "That's the best thing I've heard for a while."

Youjin said nothing and withdrew her fully bandaged hands from Okita's grasp, her eyes downcast and her shoulders sagging.

Okita saw her subdued reaction and stopped laughing, his face settling into a trademark laid-back grin instead. He leaned in closer to the girl, realising with interest that she smelt faintly of Peonies.

"Dear me, you're not thinking I disapprove or anything do you?" he asked incredulously. "I mean fine, I wouldn't want _every _Yukaku girl to kick me everytime I visit,"

He forced down a chuckle when she saw the girl flinch at his words.

"... But forcing a girl is no go."

Okita pushed up her chin with his index finger, and stared into her moist eyes.

"The only thing that I disapprove of is that I never got to see it happen."

Her eyes widened at his words and she opened her mouth to say something, but Okita didn't give her a chance. He got up from where he was sitting and motioned for her to follow him.

"Right, it's getting pretty late. I'd better find you that Yukata and take you to your room. I bet everyone's wondering what we're doing in here for so long."

The girl blushed at the suggestive tone in his voice, and Okita laughed at the expression and walked out of the room.

Youjin Yukimura, what an interesting girl she was.

* * *

Okita :D He's such an unique character to write with. I loved his personality in the games! OC's viewpoint chapter next!


End file.
